Yerkes Observatory
Yerkes Observatory is a research branch of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the University of Chicago. Until the mid-1960's, Yerkes Observatory housed all of the Department's activities (including managing the operations for McDonald Observatory in Texas from 1932-1962). Today the 77-acre, park-like site in southeast Wisconsin provides laboratory space and access to telescopes for research and instruction in ways that complement other facilities available to the Department. A substantial fraction of the University's library holdings in astronomy are housed at Yerkes.
Visiting hours: Yerkes provides tours every Saturday morning throughout the year at fifteen minutes past ten, eleven, and Noon. There is no charge, but we appreciate donations.
For further information, please do any of the following:
* call 262-245-5555
* send a FAX to 262-245-9805, or,
* send an email message to Richard Dreiser, the Tour Coordinator
From Milwaukee or Beloit:
Take Highway 43 all the way to the Highway 67 Elkhorn/Williams Bay exit. Turn south onto Highway 67 towards Williams Bay, and drive about six miles to the intersection of Highway 50. Cross Highway 50 (you will see Mercy Clinic immediately on your left) Continue downhill almost exactly one mile (you will pass Charlie-O's Restaurant on your right) to where Highway 67 does a t-intersection with Geneva Street (the Williams Bay Fire Department is immediately ahead of you). Turn right, and go uphill, curving to your left on Highway 67/Geneva Street almost exactly one mile up to the unlit brown sign with white lettering that says YERKES OBSERVATORY. (Please note that, because of ongoing research, our sign is NOT lit up.) Turn into the Yerkes Observatory Drive, and park in front of the Observatory. (If you see the illuminated Aurora University sign on your left, you've gone exactly one block too far. Turn around.)
WEBSITE:
http://astro.uchicago.edu/yerkes/
